Author Stacey Rourke

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Well, THE CONDUIT didn't make it to the semi-finals of the Amazon contest, and the review I got from Publisher's Weekly was --ahem--less than glowing. Of course my initial reaction was to assume that that reviewer was an angry little troll whose mommy and daddy didn't hug them enough. But after sleeping on it, and letting the criticism soak in, I see valid points in the troll's comments. (Not quite ready to let go of the "troll" idea just yet. Maybe tomorrow. For today they will remain a troll.)

Over the last year numerous literary professionals have told me to cut anything out of my manuscript that didn't directly relate to the story. So I did. My original manuscript was over 110,000 words and I cut it down to 62,000. Yesterday I was told that the story is now lacking in description. Basically, if my novel was a person it went from grossly obese to anorexic skinny from all my changes. I need to work to mold it to a voluptuous Marilyn Monroe shape. That I can do.

Also, after reading other excerpts in the contest I've decided to rework the opening chapter to bring more action in right off the bat. The ideas have already formed on how to do this and I'm excited to make the changes.

But I want to make one point very clear to all my fellow writers; by no means am I suggesting that any writer should even try to mold their work to the whims and opinions of other people. I see valid points in the troll's review and I will use them to make my manuscript better. However I am not going to completely change my story, plot and characters to suit his/her little troll tastes. As T.L. Cooper, author of ALL SHE EVER WANTED, pointed out the bones of my story are good, it just needs to be fleshed up a bit. But in doing so I will stay true to the story I wrote, because I believe in it and the message behind it

Monday, April 25, 2011

Gather round boys and girls cause I'm about to cross the line from "semi-crazy" to "that girl's cheese done slid right off her cracker." (A nod and wink to anyone that knows where I borrowed that line from.)

Last week I was somewhat confident about my chances of making it into the next round of the Amazon contest. But that was then. This is now. And now I'm second guessing every paragraph, and critiquing every word choice. Did I over-use adverbs? Is my sentence structure too weak? My character development lacking? Should I have had something blow up in the first chapter? Then my main character could've swaggered away from the explosion in slow motion. I always love those scenes in movies. Why, oh-why didn't I include one?! Sure, it would've had nothing what-so-ever to do with the story, BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT! And what about a vampire?! Isn't there some sort of rule for Young Adult books right now that they have to have a vampire in them? I could've thrown one in somewhere in the background, like a prop. Instead of a lamp in the corner, they could have a vampire. I could make it work! Wait! What about a vampire lamp?! Maybe that should be my main character! Is it too late for a rewrite? AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

*Pant, pant, pant*

It's too much pressure. I changed my mind. I don't want to know if I made the next round or not. Instead I'm going to move into a cave far from the reach of the Internet, or any other media/communication source that could leak the news to me. My only writing shall be cave drawings depicting how I use a hairbrush and dental floss to hunt for rabbits. Tell my children I love them.

On second thought, this rant has me feeling a little better. Maybe I'll cancel that cave reservation. Instead I'll keep myself as busy as possible today. Tomorrow I'll pull on my big girl panties, steal my nerves, and accept the results as they are given. Possibly after throwing up a little bit--but I'll play that part by ear.

Gather round boys and girls cause I'm about to cross the line from "semi-crazy" to "that girl's cheese done slid right off her cracker." (A nod and wink to anyone that knows where I borrowed that line from.)

Last week I was somewhat confident about my chances of making it into the next round of the Amazon contest. But that was then. This is now. And now I'm second guessing every paragraph, and critiquing every word choice. Did I over-use adverbs? Is my sentence structure too weak? My character development lacking? Should I have had something blow up in the first chapter? Then my main character could've swaggered away from the explosion in slow motion. I always love those scenes in movies. Why, oh-why didn't I include one?! Sure, it would've nothing what-so-ever to do with the story, BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT! And what about a vampire?! Isn't there some sort of rule for Young Adult books right now that they have to have a vampire in them? I could've thrown one in somewhere in the background, like a prop. Instead of a lamp in the corner, they could have a vampire. I could make it work! Wait! What about a vampire lamp?! Maybe that should be my main character! Is it too late for a rewrite? AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

*Pant, pant, pant*

It's too much pressure. I changed my mind. I don't want to know if I made the next round or not. Instead I'm going to move into a cave far from the reach of the Internet, or any other media/communication source that could leak the news to me. My only writing shall be cave drawings depicting how I use a hairbrush and dental floss to hunt for rabbits. Tell my children I love them.

On second thought, this rant has me feeling a little better. Maybe I'll cancel that cave reservation. Instead I'll keep myself as busy as possible today. Tomorrow I'll pull on my big girl panties, steal my nerves, and accept the results as they are given. Possibly after throwing up a little bit--but I'll play that part by ear.

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About Me

There is nothing worse than being put on the spot and asked to talk about yourself. For me it brings back that inevitable moment in a new school when the teacher would ask me to stand up, introduce myself and tell the class something about myself. I was always worried I would blurt out something stupid that I would get teased for. Something like, "My name's Stacey and I like pickles!" Then for the rest of the school year I'd be known as the Pickle Girl and let's be honest, no one wants that.
So to avoid such a faux pas I will simply say that I love to write. It allows me to get my crazy out just enough that I can function as a normal member of society.